Biface Platters

[PaleIO]

I had someone ask me recently to send some photos of a personal find from several years ago and decided to share here also. Some of you may remember it from AO. I am looking forward to the input I get on this one. I have had professional archaeologists look at them and most have agreed that they are real old...but recently I had a career archeologist tell me he would only date them at 1000-2000 yrs. I am very confident in my belief that they are of Clovis origin but always open to input from others. Two of the biface's were found stacked together sticking out of an eroded creek bank with the additional piece of flint. The third was covered in a thin layer of soil directly below the others. The white one caught my eye, if you look closely you can see the soil line. I have searched the area around and downstream many times since with no additional pieces recovered. I believe the darker material is Spanish Digging's. IMHO the more oval platter is nearly identical to one found near Boulder, CO in the Mahaffy Cache. As always found on private land with full landowners permission.

 

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[PaleIO]

More pictures....

 

[Fred250]

To me that is just about the coolest thing to find. I wonder what would be of equivalent value in today’s world. Were those easy to come by or high value items?

 

[Garscale]

The flaking looks Clovis. There have been a number of Clovis platters found. I don't have a clue why they would make a biface like that but consensus is that they did. Certainly not point pre forms.Those look very much like the ones I have seen.

 

[Gene Mean]

Congrats on those impressive finds. What exactly are they and are they called platters because of their size/shape?

 

[dirstscratcher]

They look very early to me. much more refined thinning than is found on the Hopewell discs, which would be out of your area anyway.

This is an example of a typical Hopewell cache blade found by the thousands in an Ohio Hopewell mound.

 

[Garscale]

They look very early to me. much more refined thinning than is found on the Hopewell discs, which would be out of your area anyway.
View attachment 1851244
This is an example of a typical Hopewell cache blade found by the thousands in an Ohio Hopewell mound.

Yep. That's a preform.

 

[PaleIO]

As far as I know the platter name comes from the size. I have been told they were somewhat of a toolbox that they carried along and busted tools off as needed. Once they were worked out and to thin for making tools some say they broke them and made points.

 

[Garscale]

As far as I know the platter name comes from the size. I have been told they were somewhat of a toolbox that they carried along and busted tools off as needed. Once they were worked out and to thin for making tools some say they broke them and made points.

I have heard that as well but I think that's a wild guess. Ovid shape is the most wasteful possible for that purpose.

 

[uniface]

why they would make a biface like that

Platter cores were the preferred design for transportation. They started out thicker and got thinner as long, transverse flakes (some of them overshots) were removed. Oval shapes made it fairly easy for removals to reach, or pass, the center line (no stacks wanted).

The ones found (like those) are generally last stage (thinnest) before being split in two (diagonally) for point production (if that's what was intended). At that point, they were cached for later use far from the lithic source.

The thin, spreading flakes removed were excellent tools as-is, and served as tool stock for making purposefully shaped tools like endscrapers.

Actually, near-complete thinning flakes from them are even scarcer than the platters themselves. First picture shows reduction sequence involved. All three are overshots.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/n...facts/137700-some-paleo-tools-joshuareem.html

FWIW

 

[Buckleberry]

Platters are the perfect description for those artifacts...and dang those are impressive and awesome finds!!!

 

[joshuaream]

I remember when you first posted those (or when I saw them first posted.) I was convinced they were Clovis then, and am still convinced they are paleo today.

I think uniface described them perfectly. They were mostly cores used to get useful flakes of rock. If you were truly expeditionary and couldn't count on easily making it back to a great source of rock, and didn't know if you would find more, those platters were the most efficient way of getting the most inches of cutting tools per pound of rock carried.

 

[old digger]

Those are awesome!

 

[antmike915]

Nice

 

[ToddsPoint]

I've got one found in Macoupin Co. IL. From an old collection. Gary

 

[MAMucker]

They started out thicker and got thinner as long, transverse flakes (some of them overshots) were removed. Oval shapes made it fairly easy for removals to reach, or pass, the center line (no stacks wanted).

Actually, near-complete thinning flakes from them are even scarcer than the platters themselves. First picture shows reduction sequence involved. All three are overshots.

FWIW

I appreciate the knowledge shared here. A thinning flake (if found) certainly would be a cherished artifact and gingerly displayed. I imagine that some collectors unknowingly keep a few of these rare flakes buried and crunching in a box of debitage.

Observation: Lithic material used has not been not been mentioned, but it appears that all three examples are made of quartzite. I think that also ties them together. Does anyone have any thoughts regarding Paleo use of this lithic?

 

[Garscale]

I have seen several quartzite Clovis. Also in my east tx site there were quite a few over shot flakes from quartzite reduction . I'm not sure what the material is in the op.

 

[Jon Stewart]

Platters and disc's? Aren't they just called preforms.

 

[PaleIO]

The knowledge folks that have looked at them in the past suggest the material is Spanish Diggings. I have not seen any red quartzite like that locally.

 

[PaleIO]

Platters and disc's? Aren't they just called preforms.

I have also heard them called biface core. I wouldn't call them a preform because in theory the user had no specific end product in mind.